Words cannot express my personal feelings of sadness and loss. I've never personally known the man but through his humor and the way he could make me laugh like no other comedian could and I felt a connection. My first encounter with Robin Williams was via Mork & Mindy (1978–1982) T.V. show. It was one of the shows our whole family could watch and laugh and enjoy.

I sat for a while watching all the videos and coverage about Robin Williams and I was getting emotional. Today of all days too, I was interviewed by a local newspaper about our county's high suicide rate. I talked to the reporter for over an hour and half about my brush with death, the need for education and suicide prevention. I also made the point that people don't "commit suicide"... " illnesses were in control"... it was "the illness that killed them."

When Gabe Howard, a motivational speaker, award-winning advocate, mental illness blogger and writer, as well a person living with severe bipolar and anxiety disorders was asked by one of his readers about this subject, he gave, what I believe to be the best reply to the "commit suicide" term, he said:"The mentally ill do not “commit” suicide. It makes it sound like they did it on purpose or that they had a say in the matter. But they don’t, really. Their illnesses were in control.

The entire concept of “committing” suicide, as it relates to mental illness, is nothing short of tragedy. Your son died by suicide. More specifically, he died from his mental illness, which caused him so much torment and suffering that he ultimately succumbed to it. It was not his fault, nor was it his desire. Most importantly, it wasn’t his choice.

Your son didn’t kill himself; the illness killed him." - Gabe Howard
If you think suicide is a choice, you're wrong - it's a deadly side effect of extreme emotional and psychological distress. Given the choice, being balanced with medication if needed and therapy), having the right support and talking to someone - professional - family - friend many times lowers suicidal behavior risk factors. Yet, even when you think all is well, when you know some one is dealing with depression, there is always a higher risk factor. Does not matter if poor or rich... have the best insurance or have none, have tons of friends or a lot of people just around...ultimately some will succumbed to the illness. That is what has happened with Robin Williams. He succumbed to depression and it took his life. I'm sure he would have 10 jokes he could make about that, but it's true.
"He has been battling severe depression of late," his media representative Mara Buxbaum told CNN. "This is a tragic and sudden loss. The family respectfully asks for their privacy as they grieve during this very difficult time." http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/11/showbiz/robin-williams-dead/

I could not be more stunned by the loss of Robin Williams, mensch, great talent, acting partner, genuine soul.